A Life Once Lived
by Random Guise
Summary: A story based on the short film "The Fountain" by the Moser brothers. Most haven't seen it so a synopsis is given at the beginning. Story by request from user retro mania. The Fountain of Youth erases more than just wrinkles! A series posted over 9 days, now complete. I don't own these characters, and my fountain clogged up years ago.
1. Chapter 1

**Movie Synopsis: This story is a sequel based on a short 15m film called "The Fountain" by the Moser brothers. In it, we see characters Artie Banks and Maddie Paulson meeting at a fountain in a park located in Orlando, Florida. They appear to be meeting for the first time, although the meeting had been arranged previously; Artie is seen reading a note telling him the girl's name. The two go for a walk while they talk until they end up in front of Artie's house. He invites her into the house for something cold to drink and the scene shifts subtly to many years later at the same house. A much older Artie is waiting on a bedridden Maddie before he goes out to work in their greenhouse. While working, he drops a trowel that causes water to well up and run away from the spot. He collects some of the water and finds that it almost instantly renews withered and dying plants. He takes some of the water in to the house and gives a sip to Maddie, who is then able to get out of bed and move around for the first time in ages. They notice how the water causes a sprout to regress to a seed and create a plan to drink the water themselves. Maddie drinks first and becomes youthful again but loses all her memories back to the meeting in the park. She still thinks she needs to meet somebody in the park and leaves to go do so, while Artie writes himself a note to go meet her, giving her name and a picture because he understands he will have no memories of their life together either. He then drinks the water and becomes young again for we next see him in the park with the note he wrote to himself. The film ends with him meeting Maddie in the same fashion as the beginning of the movie, seemingly for the first time although the viewer knows otherwise.**

Chapter 1

A Life Once Lived  


Artie Banks stood at the edge of the park and looked again at the note he found in his house laying on the writing desk. It was labeled "Read this Artie" on the envelope, and inside he found a picture of a girl and a note written to him in a handwriting that was not unlike his own but in a shakier and less flowing style. It read:

 _Artie, you must go to the park down the street. Sitting on the bench you will find a girl. You must introduce yourself; if you don't believe this now you will when you see her. She will be the girl of your dreams. Suggest you go for a walk, and when the walk takes you to your house invite her in for a drink. She prefers sweet tea. Excuse yourself and go into the greenhouse in the backyard and read the note there._

Oddly, the letter was unsigned.

Well, the picture matched the girl that was sitting on the edge of the fountain so he followed the instructions and introduced himself and suggested a walk. He steered the walk to his house, and invited her in for a cold drink. They talked for a bit, and he excused himself and slipped out into the backyard to check the greenhouse. Along with the flowers and gardening supplies was another note lying on a table. He took the note and read the contents, again in the same handwriting as before:

 _Artie, you have been married to Maddie for 47 years; you proposed the same day you met her. Forty-seven years later you dropped a tool and water sprung out of the ground on the place marked on the other side of this paper. That water had the power to rejuvenate life. Maddie drank about 4 ounces of the water and became young but lost her memories of the 47 years. You are writing this note to yourself before you drink the water too. The rest of the water is in a Mason jar in the top shelf above the oven. You can be no happier than spending another lifetime with Maddie. I don't know how you can convince others what happened. Look at the photo album.  
_

This note was signed Artie.

He quickly grabbed one of the better-looking potted flowers and hurried back into the house. He presented the flower along with a cold drink as they continued to talk. Artie could see how life would be wonderful with this woman and before the evening was out he proposed. It wasn't until after she accepted that he decided to give her the full story, or at least as much as he had told himself.

Artie was quite intelligent, but he fumbled for a way to start the topic; no matter which approach he thought of it was going to sound like he was insane. But if he didn't say something Maddie was going to think of herself as insane. She still thought that it was 1954, Eisenhower was President and her parents were waiting for her back home across town where they all lived in a simple single-floor wood house. Artie didn't know who the president was, but at least he knew it was around 2001 and both of her parents must be long dead. This wasn't going to be easy.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Maddie, umm, do you trust me?" Artie asked.

"Trust you? I just accepted your marriage proposal and you have to ask? I think that's kind of implied Artie!"

"Good. There's something that I have to tell you before we go much further. I just found out about it myself, but it sounds so strange that even I hardly believe it and I've seen the proof. Well, some of the proof anyway. I have to get something." Artie stood up and went over to a large bookshelf in the corner, hoping that his older self still kept the pictures where he used to keep them when he was young. He found the photos, but instead of a single photo album there were many. Fortunately, they were arranged chronologically and he took the first two starting in 1954 along with a framed photo and brought them back to Maddie sitting on the couch. He sat beside her and laid out the albums unopened.

"Maddie, how did you come to be waiting at the fountain in the park?"

"My parents sent me. They said that they wanted me to meet a nice boy who was going to be there. It was a beautiful day so I decided to go and see" Maddie explained.

"And did you go straight to the park?"

"Yes. No. I mean, I didn't go straight there. I must have fainted from the sun or something because I remember waking up in an old man's house. He told me that he brought me in to cool down and wake up. I left and then went to the park. A little bit later a young boy came by and gave me a note that said to wait because you'd be a little late."

"What was the house like that you woke up in?"

"I don't remember, I wasn't studying it. Kinda like this one I guess. I mostly talked to the man and left."

"Was this the man?" He showed her the framed photo, one taken of him and Maddie at their 40th wedding anniversary.

"Yes, that's the man. I don't know who the woman is, I didn't see anyone else."

"That's okay, I just wanted to make sure it was the same man" Artie started to say something else and stopped. He paused for a moment and then continued. "Okay, here's the strange thing I wanted to tell you. You and I met in that park 47 years ago and got married immediately after, and have lived here since then. At least I think we lived here all the time. When I met you at the park I found you from a note that someone gave me. Do you remember me reading it?"

"Yes, at the park. That's when you asked if I was Maddie Paulson."

"Right. The note also told me to take you for a walk to my house. Here's the note." He handed it over so that Maddie could read it.

"You went out and brought me a plant after we talked a little while. Did you go in the greenhouse like the note said?"

"Yes I did. And here's that note too." He handed over the second note. Maddie took much longer to read that one, pausing to gasp as she put her hand to her mouth.

"Artie, is this a joke? The handwriting on the two notes is the same, but how can that be you? Water that makes you young again?"

"I know, it sounds just too strange to be true. But there is a calendar in the kitchen that says it's 2001. I saw a car drive by that looks like nothing I've ever seen before. This is my house, but except for the writing desk none of the other furniture looks the same. I don't even know what some of these things are, like that box on top of the television set. I never had a television, but one sits right over there. I brought these photo albums over; maybe they can give us a clue."

Artie opened the oldest photo album and together they leaned over and looked at the pages. Inside the first page was labeled "Our New Life Together" and gave a wedding date in 1954. Picture after picture showed family and guests at a wedding. Standing at the wedding cake ready to cut it was Artie and Maddie. He was in a tuxedo and she was in a wedding dress but the picture was them. The next section showed what must have been a honeymoon to New York City, where Maddie stood smiling in front of the Empire State Building. Artie was in another picture trying to stuff a whole hot dog in his face in Central Park.

"I always wanted to visit New York City" said Maddie.

"Looks like you got your wish. I think we enjoyed it."

Picture after picture followed as they turned pages, some individual photos and some group shots. In 1955 they went on a picnic in the summer with Maddie's family; no location was given. Later that same year a photo showed Artie in a uniform with the caption "First day at work, Orlando Sanitation Division." Artie had a slight beard at the time.

"I don't know if I like the beard or not" Maddie said. "Did the guys at work like it?"

"Beats me" Artie responded, grinning. He never had a beard before in his life.

In 1956 Maddie started to put on some weight in the belly. Over a few pictures it became a definite bulge.

Maddie gasped. "Is that what I think it is?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

They had to open the next photo album to continue.

The next photos appeared to show a room fixed up as a nursery.

"Artie," Maddie said as she began to cry "we have a family!" On the opposite page was the birth announcement from the local newspaper; a baby boy born to Artie and Maddie Banks on Feb 7, 1957. The next photo was through the window of the hospital nursery captioned 'Robert Alan Banks' with a crude arrow pointing to the proper crib.

"A son" was all Artie said. Robert was the name of Maddie's father.

Before she could turn the page Artie held it down. "Maddie, these albums show some of the life that we led together. It will help us to catch up with what happened in all that time, but it may not always be happy memories. Remember, we were both in our 70's when we drank the water. A lot of the people we knew when we were young are probably gone now. My folks died before we met, so that was 49 years ago now."

"You mean…you think my parents are dead now? I'm only twenty-four and when I left them this…oh…this morning wasn't this morning, was it?" Maddie was still trying to cope with the missing years.

"I don't know, but they'd be nearly 100 by now. It's possible they're alive, but the odds aren't that good. Robert would be 44 now, so he's still pretty young. Well, I mean let's face it; you're his mom but you're also young enough to be his daughter."

"Let's keep going, I have to find out what's happened."

They continued on in the photo albums. There were birthday parties for the family members scattered in the book, and a first haircut for Robert. A couple of photos showed couples dancing in a studio; a couple that looked like the two were among the group.

"I can dance? When did that happen?" Artie asked.

"If you want to call it dancing. You probably bruised my feet by stepping on them" Maddie joked.

A trip to Cape Canaveral with Robert in July 1961 showed all three watching something called 'Mercury launch'. Maddie was pregnant again.

"Looks like we have manned missiles now" Artie said. "I don't know what kind of war that would have been. Maybe we're at war now; that's a scary thought."

There was also a photo of the couple holding a trophy at an event a few weeks later with a banner overhead reading 'Orlando Dance-a-thon'; written on the back was 'First place – Dancing for three' for a description.

"Wait a minute, let me get something" Artie said as he got up and went to the photo album bookshelf. He brought back a trophy. "This looks like the one" he said as he sat down and handed it to Maddie. It was the same trophy as in the photo. "I guess being pregnant didn't throw off your balance too much."

A newspaper clipping that followed was the birth announcement on October 3 for a baby girl to the couple. The first photo of the baby was in her mother's arms, with 'Jayne Elizabeth Banks home for the first time' written underneath.

"She'd be about 40 now" Maddie said.

By this time photos showed Artie had put up a greenhouse in the backyard, although a much smaller one than he owned now. While he posed beside his construction, Robert pulled around a red wagon with small tools in the back. Maddie had put Jayne on a blanket nearby for the photo.

"Artie, what if we had 12 kids?" Maddie said as her eyes got wide with the thought.

"Don't worry dear, we wouldn't be living here if we had twelve kids. There wouldn't be enough room for them."

There were more birthdays, and Robert's first day of school dressed in an ironed white shirt and black pants. The next photo must have been after school with the same shirt now stained with fingerpaint and a rip in the pants; Robert was beaming with joy at whatever adventures he had that day. The mood changed entirely with the next photo of Maddie's father lying in a hospital bed, showing a weak smile while surrounded by family and birthday balloons.

"Dad doesn't look good at all. And nobody looks that happy either. It was labeled 'Early birthday' and dated 1962. The next page had the program for Robert Paulson's funeral. Maddie started crying and Artie held her.

"It's okay, I know you loved him. Just remember, to you he was alive this morning but this was almost 40 years ago. Your mom might still be alive" Artie said, offering what little consolation he could. He grabbed some tissues and handed them to her, and waited until she calmed down. After a while he asked her if she was okay, and she nodded.

"Keep going to the next page."

"That was the last page. I have to pull some more albums out." Artie got up and brought back a few more volumes.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

They continued to look through the photo albums. Another daughter, 'Gladys Ann' was born in 1963. As the years progressed, they could see the children growing and themselves getting older. Hurricane Cleo in 1964 toppled some trees in the backyard with the photos showing part of the fence gone too. Artie's hair was thinning, and Maddie's hair styles changed somewhat. Other people, unknown to them, started appearing in photos; they might have been neighbors or new friends but the descriptions didn't say except the occasional name.

By 1967 a brace appeared on one of Gladys' legs which became a mainstay for many years to come. Jayne had started school, Artie got a promotion and wore a suit now, there were a couple new cars, and of course family vacations. One photo showed a birthday cake leaning over to one side like the Tower of Pisa with a caption 'Jayne helps bake Robert's birthday cake'. Jayne wasn't happy, but everyone else in the picture was laughing and leaning at the same angle in sympathy with the cake. This photo marked the point where the pictures were now in color.

"You didn't tell me you got a new camera!" Maddie mocked.

"I was going to keep it a surprise as long as I could" Artie said with a wink.

Robert and Artie starting going to Boy Scout meetings; one photo had them both in uniform so Artie must have been a leader of some sort. Gladys started school. The opening of something called Disney World in 1971 was heralded by family photos as well.

"It looks like a ride park of some sort" Maddie said. "It's probably related to those Disney cartoons somehow."

Everyone continued to get older, Jayne joined the Girl Scouts and Robert played a couple of different sports in high school. Occasionally a report card would sneak into the album; Robert and Gladys got good grades while Maddie struggled. Artie put on some weight, and Maddie's red hair started changing color a bit as she must have fought against the first signs of gray. The pictures started to break down into three basic groups: Robert's activities, family functions and Gladys' successes over her leg, including at least two surgeries according to pictures of her with a cast.

Time marched on and the photos caught glimpses of the parade. The backyard went through several makeovers, the house appeared to have been reroofed, and there was even a pet snake named 'Bella' that belonged to someone. Robert graduated high school and went on to college to study to be an engineer, while it appeared Jayne dropped out of school and got married, and Gladys graduated and started studies to be a nurse. Jayne got divorced with a photo of her ceremoniously throwing some golf clubs in the trash. Robert graduated with a degree as an engineer and went to work for the Orlando Sanitation Department too; a picture showed proud father and son in suits for his first day on the job.

After a few hair changes Jayne got married again. Robert got engaged, and Gladys graduated and put on her whites for the first time. Maddie's mother was still going strong and could often be seen hugging her grandchildren. Jayne divorced for a second time, and Robert had a beautiful wedding to a blond girl; Maddie had thrown in the towel and was letting her hair go gray; it still looked wonderful, Artie thought.

"I'm getting hungry" Artie said. "Shall we explore the kitchen and see what wonderful food there is in the 21st century?"

"Sure, sounds good to me! I hope we don't eat pills for our food now."

They got up and walked into the kitchen. Artie didn't recognize most of the appliances, but they marveled at the refrigerator that served drinks and ice through the door. "I never dreamed of an icebox that could do that" Artie said. With all the wondrous gadgets at their hands, they ended up taking cold sandwiches back to the living room to continue the journey through the photo albums.

With some food in their system they were ready for the next big shock. There was a photo of Robert with his wife, who now had a bump of her own. 'Betty expecting' was the caption.

"Artie, we're going to be grandparents before we're even parents!"

"No Maddie, we did it in the right order. We're just getting it all at one time is all."

The next pages revealed that Robert and Betty had twins, Jayne may have gotten married again and Gladys stood next to 'Chuck' in several photos. The vacation photos were now mostly of Artie and Maddie, with occasional guest appearances by some of the kids; Gladys got married to Chuck.

A few photos later showed Artie's retirement after 35 years on the job. He had a party hat on while lying in a hammock. 'No more work' it was captioned. The next photo had him fixing the house gutter while Maddie and her mom looked on. It was simply labeled 'New Bosses'.

"I see I didn't stay in the hammock long. Time to take care of all those little projects I guess" said Artie with a sigh. Then a thought occurred to him. "I wonder if your mother came to live with us?"

"We probably have the room. Had the room. You know what I mean."

Gladys and Chuck had a child to join Robert's three, and they were all gathered around Maddie's mom for a "Happy 90th" photo. It looked like the photo was taken in a care facility or retirement home of some sort. It was dated 1997.

"Still hanging in there" Maddie said hopefully.

In 1999 the photos took a turn as Maddie started appearing in a wheelchair and later always in bed.

"Honey, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened but it doesn't look good" Artie said.

"That's okay dear, we know I make it to 2001. I just wish I knew if I was sick or had an accident. What about my mom?" That question was answered somewhat when a photo showed Maddie's mom celebrating the New Year in 2001 with Artie and Jayne.

That was the end of the books.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Artie, I know you asked me to marry you but I'm afraid I have to rescind my acceptance. It would seem I'm already a married woman."

"Yes and no. We were, but now it's kind of fuzzy. You still have a chance to get out of it; maybe you can do better!"

"Oh no, you're not getting out of it this time either. If you were good enough for me then, you're good enough for me now. Besides, we've already got the rings" she said as she held up her hand. There was a ring on it, probably matching the one in the wedding photos so many years ago. Artie had his on too.

"In that case, should we take a tour of our house? We might discover a few more things looking around." Together they got up and started a tour of the house.

They skipped the kitchen having already been there to get lunch. In their bedroom they found a framed certificate from the 'Antonio Lamas Dance Studio and Matchmaking Society'. It was signed with a note that said "To my best students". Artie had a certificate in appreciation for his 35 years working for the Orlando Sanitation Division, along with a picture that had been signed by many of his coworkers.

The hallway contained school pictures of the kids through the years, and a family portrait that had been posed for some time before Robert was an adult.

The two other rooms were probably redone since the time the kids were young. One appeared to be a guest bedroom; there was still a large picture of Maddie's parents on the wall opposite the made bed, along with a chest of drawers and an empty closet. Maddie's mom could have stayed here, thought Artie. The other room had been converted into a den of sorts, with bookshelves and a writing desk. Artie looked at the mail on top of the desk and pulled one from the stack. "Golden Acres Retirement Home" he said as he opened the envelope and read the bill inside. "Patient: Mary Paulson. Maddie, she's still alive!"

"We can use this for the address" she said excitedly. "I want to go see her."

"Maybe, but let's get ourselves settled first. Let me show you the backyard." They both walked outside and took a look around the yard. It seemed to match the most recent pictures in the photo album. The greenhouse was there, with many of the flowers in rigorous full bloom. No signs of water coming up from the ground though.

They walked back into the house and went through a side door into the garage, where Artie flipped on the lights. "Would you look at that…"

Inside was a well-polished Toyota Camry. "It looks a little like a spaceship" Maddie said, looking at it. She opened the door and looked inside. "You can't see any metal; everything is covered in something. It even smells nice; I wonder if all cars look like this now?"

"I don't know, but I do wonder where it's made; I've never heard of the Toyota Company before. Maybe we can take a ride tomorrow if I figure out how to use it. There should be an instruction manual in it somewhere."

"Tomorrow?"

"Sure tomorrow. It's starting to get late now; I don't want to get lost going out in a car I may not be able to drive in a town that's probably changed a lot. Then what would we do? I'm not sure what the money even looks like now. Uh oh…"

"What?" Maddie asked.

"What about I.D.? We're supposed to be in our 70's, not 20's. Do either of us look like 70?"

"I don't want to worry about all those things today. Tomorrow we can work on things. I just want to try and relax and call it an early evening. Did you see any dessert in the kitchen anywhere?"

"I think I saw some cookies on top of the icebox. We can have a snack and then I'll change and sleep in the guest room."

"Guest room? No husband of mine is going to sleep in the guest room. Not until you get in trouble anyway" Maddie said with a grin. "No mister, we're married. We can…um…well…"

"Yes?"

"Well, we might as well treat it like a second honeymoon. We won't be going to New York City, but you know how sometimes people meet and they say they feel like they've known each other for years? We have, we just have to fill in a few blanks first. A lot of blanks really, but it looks like we stuck together through everything and I'm not going to stop now. So eat those cookies and come to bed big guy. Do you snore?"

"I have no idea; I know I don't do it while I'm awake. Can't tell while I'm asleep."

"I'll let you know. Are any of those cookies chocolate chip?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next morning the two were sitting down having breakfast. Eggs and potatoes were complimented by fresh fruit as they discussed their plans.

"We figured out the electric range pretty well, but I've never seen anything like those skillet pans before" Maddie was saying between mouthfuls. "The food doesn't stick to them at all. And they're so light compared to the cast iron I'm used to using."

"I know what you mean. There's almost everything is electric in here. I think that one makes coffee, that one says it's a juicer, that's a blender and there's even a bread maker. At least the toaster hasn't changed much" Artie said before he was interrupted by the phone ringing. He walked over to it and picked up the handset. It continued to ring. "The phone must be broken, there's no cord to hook it up."

"Let me see that." Maddie looked at the phone. "There's no place to plug in a cord. Maybe it works more like a radio? Let me push this 'On/Off' button." She pushed the button and gave a very timid "Hello?" before a voice started talking on the other end.

She handed it to Artie and he listened as the voice went on. "Sounds like one of those door-to-door salesman" he said. "But I think it's a record. The opportunity of a lifetime he says." They both laughed. "If he only knew what that meant to us." He had to push the button to turn it off he was laughing so hard. They both embraced for a bit and then pulled back. "We got our opportunity of a lifetime; now we have one for another. I love you Maddie." They embraced again.

"I love you too Artie" Maddie said somewhat muffled.

"Say Maddie, do you suppose we could put on disguises to look old?"

"Like those Hollywood actors? Even if we could I don't think it would fool anyone in person. But how about that drive? If we stay in the car we should safe."

"Let me look for those instructions." Artie went back out in the car and looked. He finally found a booklet in the glove compartment and brought it back into the house. "Owner's Manual; this should do the trick. Let me skim through it and see what's changed."

After an hour Artie had finished. "I never thought there would be so many things to say about driving a car! They've got gadgets now that roll down your windows for you, lock all your doors, defog your windows, wash your windows, and what looks like some type of mini record that can play music in your car too. And we have air conditioning."

"Air conditioning? In a car?"

"Yup. Cools you while you're driving along. And I guess they don't even make this car with a clutch; it's an automatic."

"Artie, why would you spend so much on a car? It must cost more than the house!"

"Anything for you my sweet. But I'm thinking that most cars must be that way now. Just another thing that's changed I guess. I got the keys from the dresser, but there's a little box on the keychain with buttons. It says it will lock and unlock your doors for you and even honk your horn in an emergency."

"Well I never. Does it drive for you too?"

"No, but there's something called 'cruise control' that you use on the highway to go the same speed all the time. We don't use that in town. Want to go for that drive now? We'll just go around the block to start with and get the feel of it."

They managed to take a short drive that morning, although getting out of the garage turned out to be the most difficult part until Artie finally found a button on the wall that opened the garage door. After that Artie just made sure to go the same speed as the other traffic as they made their way around the neighborhood. They even drove past the park where they had met the day before and a lifetime before that.

When they returned home they started to go through the house methodically. They found bank statements and bills that showed just how much prices had changed since 1954, only confirming some signs that Maddie had read when they were out driving. There was something in their wallets called an 'ATM' card that matched the name of their bank, and they had two credit cards.

"I've heard of credit cards," said Maddie "I think they are…were…called Diner's Cards. But we have TWO of them? Did we have to borrow money to live?"

"I don't know; from the bank statement it looks like we had enough money to live on, and I think you can use them for more than just a restaurant now. Maybe a lot of people use them now to buy things. What I want to know is what this thing is." Artie pointed at a computer sitting on a desk in the study. "It looks like a typewriter, but it has a screen like a television. It runs on electricity, but I haven't tried to turn it on yet."

"Maybe it's a special kind of television" Maddie said. "Turn on the power and see what happens."

Artie found the power strip and turned it on. The computer screen warmed up and showed some text as it booted up. "What did it say?" she asked.

"It went by too fast. Something about the system. Oh, here's something…" he said as the screen changed to a Windows boot-up screen. The computer finished booting and displayed the desktop. While this was happening, Artie was looking through a binder with a design that matched the computer case.

"It's a computer. People have computers in their houses now! And look how small it is; the only ones I ever heard of took up a whole room. It might take a while to figure out how to use this one, but who knows what it can do."

Just then the doorbell rang. They both froze.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Maddie startled. "Artie, what do we do?" she whispered.

"Let's see if we can tell who it is" he said as he made his way quietly to the front door, where he looked through the peep hole. He turned to Maddie and mouthed "I think it's Gladys."

The doorbell rang again. Maddie tried to peek through the side curtains but couldn't see the visitor. The person knocked and called out "Dad?"

Artie pulled Maddie back into the kitchen. "Maybe she'll think we're gone if we don't answer" he said quietly.

They both went into a slight panic when they heard keys unlocking the door.

"Dad? Mom? It's Gladys!" She locked the door and glanced around the room. The photo albums were still on the coffee table in front of the couch. She went into the bedroom expecting to find her mother in bed and found it made and empty. Thinking the worst, she hurried to check on the car. It was still in the garage. She bustled outside to check the back yard. She still had a slight limp but moved around with little impairment.

"We could sneak out now" Artie said.

"No, we have to do this sometime. She has to know."

Gladys came back into the house and went to the kitchen, only to find two strangers sitting at the table. "Who are you, and where are my parents?" she asked as she approached them.

"Ummm, this may be kind of hard to explain. And REALLY hard to accept..." Artie started to say.

Maddie jumped up and rushed to Gladys to hug her before Artie could finish. "Gladys, I'm so glad to see you." She was starting to cry.

Gladys broke the embrace. "WHO are you?" she asked again as she backed off a little.

"It's me, mom! I'm young again." Maddie took a step towards Gladys again.

"Stop right there! Tell me who you are and where my parents are right now."

"I told you, I'm your mom and that's daddy right there. We got young again from drinking the water."

Gladys looked to Artie. "What is she saying?"

"We are your parents; Artie and Maddie Banks. Yesterday we were old, but then we drank some water that made us young again. It also made us lose our memories, so we've been trying to learn who we are again. To us it's still 1954."

"Right. Ok. You're young enough to be my kids but you're really my parents."

"Go look at the photo albums" Artie explained. "Work backwards if you have to, but that's us in all those photos. We had to go through it to find out what happened after we met. You're our third child."

"If I'm your third child, what happened to my leg?"

They both stared. "We don't know; our memories are gone" Artie said. "Either when you were born or you were young; you had a brace for a while and surgeries too. Just look at the albums."

"Okay, I will. Let me get something out of my car and you can show me." Gladys went out the front door while Maddie and Artie got the albums together. After a short time Gladys returned. "Okay, show me."

They skimmed through the albums backwards, and after a while arrived at the beginning of the first volume. "And that's us" Maddie said. "Look at the photo. We even have the same rings." Both held up their hands for inspection.

"Okay, you look like my parents did when they were married. But that's still not proof."

"There's more" Artie said. "When I found myself sitting in the living room, I found this in my pocket." He handed the first note that he wrote to himself to Gladys. "When we came back I followed the directions and found this" and he handed the second note to her as well.

She studied them for a long time. A very long time. Then she went back over the photos again. Artie was wondering how long it was going to take to convince her when the front door opened and Robert stepped into the room. Artie was just about to explain to him what was going on when Gladys started doing just that, except that their parents were missing and these two were in the house and probably did something with them. She had obviously been stalling waiting for Robert to show up.

It then devolved into a mass of talk, explanation and accusation that appeared to want to go on forever until several police officers arrived and entered through the open door. They separated the family members and one officer had Artie and Maddie sit on the couch while the other interviewed Gladys and Robert in the kitchen. Maddie cried and Artie held her as their officer wasn't interested in hearing any explanations of what was going on. Through the open door Artie could see neighbors walking by on the sidewalk looking into the house as the police car's lights continued to advertise the activity, but by this time he didn't care.

The two officers conferred with each other and the next thing Artie knew they were being cuffed and put into the back of the police car. Artie tried to comfort Maddie the best he could but it was of little use.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Where's Jayne?" asked Gladys.

"I don't know. I haven't been able to get a hold of her for a week" said Robert.

"All rise."

It had been two weeks since Artie and Maddie had been handcuffed and hauled out of their house. They were now in a courtroom to learn their fate. They stood, along with everyone in the courtroom.

"The Honorable Judge Mott presiding. You may be seated."

Artie and Maddie sat together at the table with their lawyer, a Mr. Preston. To their side was another table where Robert and Gladys sat along with their lawyer. There was no jury, but there were a few dozen people in the gallery. News of the case had gotten out and several media outlets had sent representatives to cover the case. There were also a few people who had known the Banks in recent times and had come to see what became of the couple, although neither Artie or Maddie knew them.

"We are here today to complete a hearing on the matter of Arthur J. and Madison L. Banks. This hearing is to determine if there is a basis for prosecution of trespass and identity theft and to determine identity and competency of the Banks. Although many of these issues might have been dealt with by grand jury and district attorneys, the complicated and connected nature of the case has placed it on our docket for consideration. All evidence and testimony has been given previously, and the court will render its decision with due deliberation. Allow me to summarize the case:"

"The persons of interest in the case claim to be Arthur J. Banks, born 1928; and Madison L. Banks nee Paulson, born 1930. Both claim to have had their ages reversed due to an unnatural phenomenon that also erased their memories back until 1954, at which point the two met for the first time."

"Fact: Both identities are real, and the people holding them were verified alive as of August 7, 2001."

"Fact: Both verified individuals lived at 433 Husdan Street in the town of Orlando, Florida."

"Fact: On August 11 of that year, their daughter Gladys Ann Shaefer arrived at the house because of a previous agreement with her father. Upon entering the premises she searched for her parents, but only found the two young individuals in question. She called her brother Robert Alan and police for assistance. Her brother and police officers arrived, and after conferring with the siblings the couple was taken into custody."

"These are the facts that were known previous to this hearing. The following have been entered as evidence:"

"After being taken into custody, both individuals were put on a psychiatric hold for 72 hours for evaluation. Both insisted on their story and offered no other explanations or deviations. Examining doctors found that both were considered legally sane and in good health. It is the opinion of the doctors that the individuals actually believe their explanation, and any knowledge of the world after 1954 is either absent or repressed."

"Both individuals, despite claiming to be over 70 years old, have had their ages estimated to be between 20 and 30 years old by a physician."

"Examination of family photos in evidence shows a great similarity between old photos and the two individuals, although this is not conclusive."

"Handwriting analysis of the two notes in evidence and the individual Arthur J. suggest the styles are closely related, but this is not conclusive."

Several people came into the courtroom, one of which walked up to a bailiff and passed a report to him. The bailiff in turn passed it to the judge.

"I am now looking at a report concerning fingerprints. It would seem that the fingerprints on file from the Department of Motor Vehicles for Arthur J. and Madison L. Banks match the individuals' prints."

"The whereabouts of the aged Banks couple has been undetermined. No credit card use or cash withdrawals have been indicated, and their automobile is still located in their home. No evidence of foul play has been found in the home, and a search of the home and grounds has turned up no bodies."

"So this court is faced with two diametrically opposed conclusions: the individuals in the courtroom are who they claim they are, or they are perpetuating a theft of identity through means and motives unknown. The first requires that some miraculous event occurred that has no basis in science or precedence, the later requires use of subterfuge to alter official records and therefore indicating another crime has been committed."

The judge looked at Artie and Maddie sitting at their table. "The court truly believes that the two individuals who stand before us today love each other deeply and faithfully, and is not unmoved by their profession of loss regarding the lives they are purported to have lived."

"However, the court is guided by a principal known as reasonableness. When the question is asked which is more reasonable to have occurred, fraud or phenomenon, the answer is clear. There is no demonstrative proof of a fountain of youth no matter how much many of us would wish otherwise. It is therefore the decision of the court..."

"Your honor!" was yelled from the back of the gallery as a figure strode up. She passed the bar without permission and carrying a potted plant entered the pit in front of the judge. A bailiff started toward her but the judge held up his hand to stay the action temporarily. "Jayne Elizabeth Banks, the oldest daughter. If I may speak?"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Granted Ms. Banks, but it will be for the record only" the judge announced.

"I don't care, I have to say something. I've been following the hearing and really felt that these two young people were trying to pull a fast one on us" she said. She nodded to her brother and sister. "I'm kind of the black sheep of the family, but it doesn't mean I don't care."

"Jayne?" said Maddie as she started to sniffle. "Don't say that...I know we must have loved you just as much..."

"This is not the place or time for that discussion" the Judge said to Maddie. "Ms. Banks, please finish what you are going to say."

"Anyway, I started to think about it. Just why would anyone want to pretend to be our parents? It wouldn't be money because they don't have a lot. Anybody else must have known that we kids wouldn't have believed them no matter what the story was. No, something else must have happened. So I read the copies of the notes again. In all this ordeal you've been worried about who they are and where mom and dad went; basically trying to prove them wrong. Did anyone think to check the water and prove them right?"

Robert and Gladys looked at each other. The idea hadn't occurred to them.

"Well, I did. I remember when growing up dad always put things in a certain high cabinet shelf to keep it out of reach for us kids. So I checked there and found a Mason jar of water and tried a little experiment of my own. I found a sprout and poured a little of that water on it. It shrunk back into a seed."

"Mom, dad, I know now that you always loved me. I was the one that made things hard, always trying to prove you didn't, and it took me twenty years to figure out you did. I can't undo what I've said and done even if you don't remember, because I always will. But I can do this for you..." she trailed off as she pulled a Mason jar out of her coat.

The judge reacted almost immediately. "Bailiffs, clear the gallery immediately!" They quickly escorted the startled and complaining audience out before closing the door.

"I was thinking about doing a little experiment with this plant right here" Jayne said. She set the plant down carefully on the floor in front of her. "But then everyone would think the plant was some type of trick. No, you need a better demonstration."

Artie and Maddie jumped to their feet while Robert and Gladys sat confused.

"Don't do it Jayne, you could go back too far in time into nothing" said Artie.

"No Jayne..." cried Maddie.

"Ms. Banks..." said the judge.

"No!" said Jayne as she turned to the judge. "Here is your 'demonstrative proof' that you need your honor. Mom, dad, name your next kid after me!" She spun the lid off the jar and drank its contents quickly. All watched as, after a few seconds, a shimmer covered Jayne and she shrank. Not into nothingness, but in an instant she was a child of no more than three, swallowed up in the clothes that her adult self had just been wearing.

"Mama, mama" the child cried as it spun and looked around until she finally caught sight of Maddie. With one more "Mama!" she ran into her mother's arms and was comforted as the entire room was stunned.

After a full minute the judge cleared his throat and spoke. "Umm...well...yes...there will be a 15...no, 30 minute recess. Counselors, please join me in chambers. Bailiffs, make sure nobody comes in or leaves." He stood up and left the bench. The bailiffs were still so stunned they forgot to order everyone to rise, although even if they had it probably would have fallen on deaf ears.

Thirty minutes went by. Then another fifteen. Finally after almost an hour the judge returned to the bench. "Today's hearing has been...unusual...to say the least. There can be no doubt of the possibility that some type of phenomenon can restore youth after the event just witnessed."

"I spoke earlier of reasonableness, and I speak of it again now. Considering the child in our presence, it would be unreasonable of the court to take her away from her parents whose age is now explained, even if not understood. The explanation of fraud is now the choice that is cast as unreasonable. Arthur and Madison, please rise."

Artie and Maddie stood up.

"This court hereby substantiates your identities, and grants you all title and interest in all properties you had before your...er...renewal. You are also hereby charged with the custody of Jayne Elizabeth Banks, your daughter. Please listen carefully to what I tell you now: _A life once lived_ cannot be repeated, for time has continued to flow even when you swam against the current for a short time. Whether you wish to have a relationship with your two grown children is up to you, but you should consider this an opportunity for a new start. In that spirit I am offering you access to a program to establish new identities for yourselves; I strongly recommend you take advantage of it or you shall encounter more problems with your new lease on life as others will seek what you found. I think it goes without saying" he said as his gaze swept the courtroom "that no one should speak of the events in this courtroom again to the media. Even the records of the proceedings today are going to be sealed immediately. This case is dismissed." He banged his gavel and rubbed his eyes.

The End

* * *

 **A/N: I had not watched this short movie before, but when a request came in to write a story for it I decided to watch it. Afterward, the idea occurred that although they were young again there would be a lot of complications with everything else. And that WAS something I could write about. There are probably some interesting times ahead for them, but someone else can write about those if the mood strikes. I do wish the Banks family well.  
**


End file.
